UPI Almanac for Friday, Dec. 7, 2018

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan launched a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing 2,403 people and catapulting the United States into World War II.

By

UPI Staff

Sailors stand amid wrecked planes at the Ford Island seaplane base, watching as USS Shaw explodes in the center background December 7 1941. USS Nevada is also visible in the middle background, with her bow headed toward the left. File Photo by U.S. Navy/UPI

Today is Thursday, Dec. 7, the 341st day of 2018 with 24 to follow.

The moon is new. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Mars, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus.

In 1972, Apollo 17 was launched on the last scheduled manned mission to the moon. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Jack Schmitt left a commemorative plaque on the lunar surface as they left.

In 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor after the latter declared itself a democratic republic in the wake of Portugal's departure from the island. More than 100,000 East Timorese died in the conflict, most of whom were civilians placed in internment camps or killed by the Indonesian military.

In 1982, the first execution by lethal injection took place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.

In 1991, President Mikhail Gorbachev fired the Gen. Vladimir Lobov, chief of staff of the Soviet Union's armed forces, and replaced him with Viktor Samsonov, an officer who defied the August coup attempt.

In 2017, former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor Larry Nassarwas sentenced to 60 years in prison for possession of child pornography. On January 24, 2018, he was sentenced to another 40 years to 175 years for sexually abusing some 265 gymnasts.

A thought for the day: "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt